Champion Nadal reaches 3rd round on empty court

PARIS » Amid an unusual silence on an empty center court at the French Open, defending champion Rafael Nadal celebrated his 35th birthday with something very familiar: another victory against Richard Gasquet.

Nadal won 6-0, 7-5, 6-2 against Gasquet to improve to 17-0 for his career against the Frenchman since they first met in 2004. Gasquet hasn’t even won a set in the past 12 losses to Nadal and not since 2008.

There were no fans on Court Philippe Chatrier to witness Nadal’s 102nd victory at Roland Garros, with all leaving by 9 p.m. because of coronavirus rules.

Nadal wasn’t too bothered by finishing at nearly 11:30 p.m in humid conditions.

“The main thing is to feel myself playing well,” he said.

In women’s play, topranked Ash Barty retired from her second-round match, leaving the tournament without its top two women’s seeds and any of the top three women in the rankings.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek breezed through to the third round, beating Rebecca Peterson 6-1, 6-1 on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The No. 8-seeded Pole next faces No. 30 Anett Kontaveit.

Swiatek, who turned 20 Monday, is looking to become the first woman to win consecutive Roland Garros titles since Justine Henin won her third straight in 2007.

Barty, the 2019 champion, trailed 6-1, 2-2 when she signaled that she couldn’t continue against Magda Linette on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“I was battling the pain, and it just became too severe, and like I said, was becoming unsafe,” Barty said.